Topic: BRICS and the Construction of a New Global Order with Chinese Characteristics
Speaker: Professor Marcus Vinícius De Freitas
Visiting Professor, China Foreign Affairs University
Senior Fellow, Policy Center for the New South
Date: 4 Jun 2025 (Wed)
Time: 3:00 - 4:30 pm
Venue: DE306, PolyU Campus
Language: English
Abstract:
As the post–Cold War unipolar moment recedes, the emergence of new geopolitical coalitions signals a structural transformation in global governance. Among these, the BRICS grouping—comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, and now expanded to include several new members—has increasingly positioned itself as a counterweight to Western-dominated institutions. At the heart of this coalition’s momentum lies China, whose growing economic, diplomatic, and institutional influence has redefined the logic of multilateral engagement.
This lecture explores how BRICS is reshaping global power dynamics and embodying the contours of a new global order infused with Chinese characteristics. Emphasising relational diplomacy, infrastructure-led development, and institutional innovation, this evolving paradigm challenges long-standing Western norms of interventionism, conditionality, and liberal universalism. Through examining the BRICS institutional architecture, development finance mechanisms, strategic narratives, and China’s normative imprint, this presentation provides a comprehensive account of how the BRICS alliance contributes to constructing a multipolar world grounded in sovereignty, equality, and differentiated paths to modernity.
Speaker's Biography:
Marcus Vinícius De Freitas is a Brazilian scholar of international relations and global governance with a distinguished academic and professional trajectory spanning Latin America, China, Europe, and the Middle East. His extensive experience includes serving as a Visiting Professor of International Relations at China Foreign Affairs University (Beijing), the cradle of Chinese Diplomacy, and as a Senior Fellow at the Policy Center for the New South (Rabat, Morocco). He previously held the Visiting Fellow of Practice position at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford and a Professor at Armando Alvares Penteado Foundation in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Professor De Freitas holds graduate degrees from Cornell University and the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), and his research focuses on multipolarity, the reform of global institutions, China’s international strategy, and South-South cooperation. He frequently comments on global affairs, contributing regularly to outlets such as China Daily, Diário de São Paulo, Jornal Económico de Portugal, CNN, BBC, and CGTN. In addition to his academic work, he has advised governments and private entities on diplomacy, energy, and international development issues, bringing a practical perspective to his academic research.
His current research agenda examines the normative and institutional contours of an emerging global order shaped by the Global South, particularly emphasising the BRICS coalition and China’s role in promoting a model of developmental multilateralism infused with Chinese characteristics.
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